


Broken Strings

by SecretLifeofArwen



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Art, Drama, England (Country), F/M, Gen, Music, Romance, University
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-01 05:28:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14513541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretLifeofArwen/pseuds/SecretLifeofArwen
Summary: Eli Parker is - what some would call - your stereotypical Tumblr hipster. She's obsessed with art, of all kinds and expresses that obsession through her blog (which of course, is on Tumblr).Niall Horan is every girl's dream: typical boy-next-door looks, a talented musician and destined for fame. But unfortunately for him, that wasn't Eli's dream.After watching her from afar for most of their college years, he finally decides to make a move. But what will happen when her past starts to catch up with them?





	1. Prologue

I don’t know what it was about her, but for the past 5 years, she was constantly on my mind. From year 10 all the way up to now – which was nearing the end of year 13 – she was all I wanted and all I could think about. But yeah, I was a wimp and couldn’t talk to her.

There were quite a few people in the hall this morning, but she still stood out. She’s not long gotten her first tattoo (that I could see anyway) and the black ink on her wrist contrasted against her lightly tanned skin. Jeez, I sounded like a creep... Her light brown hair was in a messy pile on the top of her head and she wore her signature paint-splattered mom-jeans with a simple white tank top. As usual, she looked perfectly imperfect. Yep...I definitely sound like a creep.

We were preparing for the end of year show. She, along with all the other artsy kids in our year, was working on the banners and backdrops. God, she looked cute when she was concentrating; her brow slightly furrowed with a small pout on her full lips. I was supposed to be working on a new song to perform for my solo, but I couldn’t focus while I was in the same room as Eli Parker.

*

“Have you got any closer to talking to Eli yet?”

I shook my head with a grimace as my best friend smirked knowingly at me. His sister laughed.

“You should have seen him this morning,” she said. “He couldn’t take his eyes off her.”

“What’s new,” he laughed too.

Narrowing my eyes playfully at them both, I threw a grape – aiming for her forehead – but she caught it in her mouth. The siblings fist bumped.

They kept telling me that if I didn’t move fast then I may never see her again once we all go to university. But they didn’t need to know that I already knew we were going to the same one. I’d heard her talking about it to one of her friends. AND I’d seen her across the green at said university’s open day. We had some classes together and she’d smiled at me a few times in those classes, but she smiled that way at everybody. It was the kind of smile that said ‘I don’t really know you, but I’m friendly so I always smile’. That smile made my heart sink.

“I’m going to the music room,” I muttered with a playful glare. “I need to work on the song for my solo.”

“Yeah?” Hannah raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow at me. “Is that because you couldn’t work on it during preparation?”

Laughing, I flipped her the finger before grabbing my bag and leaving the lunch room.

 

 

By the time the end of Sixth Form came, I still hadn’t spoken to Eli Parker.


	2. Chapter One

I’d just finished unpacking my last box when someone banged on my bedroom door. Rolling my eyes, I changed out of my skinny jeans and shirt before pulling on my joggers and a sports bra. It was our first day at the university and we were supposed to be having a roommate bonding night. I’d only met Hannah before today. We went to the same Sixth Form. And the two of us were in a dorm with one other girl and four guys, one of them being her brother. Huffing, I glanced down at my multicoloured toenails and smiled slightly. I never stuck to one colour when it came to my toes. With a final sigh, I made my way to the communal lounge/kitchen. Hannah was grinning mischievously and her brother – Jack – was smirking. I sent her a confused look before someone’s breath hitched behind me. Turning around slightly, I grinned. I remembered this guy from Sixth Form too.

“Hi Niall,” I said with a small wave. He looked like he was in shock, but I couldn’t for the life of me think why. We never really talked at college. Internally shrugging, I turned back to Hannah.

“Where are the other three?”

“Coming now,” Niall said.

Gosh, his voice was smooth. He had a slight Irish twang and it made me smile, though I tried to hide it.  Sure enough, the final three rushed in through the door.

“I’m Jen,” said the girl. She was curvy with pale, freckled skin, long blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She was wearing pale blue skinny jeans with a floral blouse, white knitted cardigan and thick-rimmed glasses.

“Cameron,” the boy next to her waved. He had that dark and mysterious vibe about him, with his tanned skin, dark brown eyes and thick black hair in a quiff.

He turned to the guy behind him and made movements with his hands. He was signing. The other boy nodded and smiled sheepishly. Cameron turned back to us with an easy grin on his face.

“This is Aaron. He’s deaf and he can lip-read but he prefers to sign.”

Smiling, I moved my hands carefully and signed: ‘ _Hi! I’m Eli.’_ His eyes brightened and his shy smile turned into a full-on grin. I could have sworn I saw him sigh with relief. Cameron was staring and when my gaze locked with his, an unknown emotion flashed in his eyes. He cleared this throat and looked away.

“I’ve already ordered the pizzas,” he said. “What do you guys want to play?”

“I’ve got Lord of the Rings Monopoly in my room,” I said as I signed.

Aaron started frantically signing ‘ _yes’_ and we all laughed.

“Alright, I’ll go get it.”

Hannah started groaning, complaining about how we’d be sat playing it for hours.

*

She wasn’t wrong. Four hours had passed; it was now 11 pm and we’d finished all of the pizza and had 6 arguments about the game. But that’s standard for Monopoly. Multiple times, I’d caught Niall AND Cameron staring at me.

Aaron was signing to me from across the coffee table.

 _‘You’re a dick magnet_ ,’ he said before we both burst into laughter.

 _‘Shut up!’_ I replied with a smirk.

Cameron gently thumped him on the shoulder and tried his best not to smile. He cracked and chuckled slightly.

 _‘How do you know how to sign so well anyway?’_ He continued.

 _‘I had to learn for my cousin. He got into an accident while his was fighting in Vietnam and lost his hearing.’_ I said with a shrug.

He nodded in understanding.

Standing, I stretched my arms above my head.

“I’m off to bed now guys. We have classes starting tomorrow.”

They all said their goodnights and I made my way to my room. I could feel Niall’s eyes on my back the whole time until I was out of the room.

Heaving a sigh, I slowly entered my room and changed into an oversized t-shirt and fuzzy socks before climbing into bed and snuggling into the covers.

*

Judging by the clock, three hours had gone by and I still couldn’t sleep. As I sat up in my bed the faint sound of an acoustic guitar playing came from the direction of the kitchen. Running my hands through my wavy hair, I swung my legs out of the bed and padded over to the door. Yep, someone was definitely playing the guitar at 3 am. I opened my door and the music stopped, so I leant against the frame for a minute. Then it continued.

When I entered the kitchen, I found that it was Niall playing the soothing tune. When he saw me in the doorway, he smiled.

“Hey,” he said in the softest voice I’d ever heard.

“Hi,” I whispered with sleepy eyes.

He continued playing while I grabbed the milk from the fridge, a bar of chocolate and some vanilla extract from the cupboard along with two mugs.

“Want some?” I held the mug up in question. He simply nodded with a lazy grin.

I half filled the mugs with milk and heated them in the microwave before adding some cubes of chocolate and the vanilla. While stirring the contents together, I watched his hands work against the strings of his guitar.

“So,” he interrupted my trance. “Couldn’t sleep huh?”

Shrugging nonchalantly, I placed his mug on the counter beside him before taking one of the bar stools opposite to him.

“It’s nothing new,” I murmured. “How about you?”

“I had an induction assignment due in later today that I forgot to do.” He laughed. It was so warm and smooth, like caramel. The sound made me smile.

 

Something about Niall Horan made me feel... Something about him made me _feel_.


End file.
